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| Flowers for Halloween |
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| Blessing day with Papi (pronounce poppy-this is what comes from having a spanish-speaking sister and brother-in-law.) |
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| Evie already loves being read to. She'll focus on each page and get big smiles on her face. |
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| Blessing day with papa and nana Roberts. |
And now for a wonderful talk by Joseph B.:
“Gratitude turns a meal into a feast and drudgery into delight. It
softens our grief and heightens our pleasure. It turns the simple and common
into the memorable and transcendent. It forges bonds of love and fosters
loyalty and admiration.
Living in thanksgiving daily is a
habit that will enrich our lives and the lives of those we love. But how do we
make this part of who we are? May I suggest three things that will help as we
strive to live in thanksgiving daily?
First, we must open our eyes.
Our minds have a marvelous capacity
to notice the unusual. However, the opposite is true as well: The more often we
see the things around us—even the beautiful and wonderful things—the more they
become invisible to us.
That is why we often take for granted the beauty of this world: the flowers, the trees, the birds, the clouds—even those we love.
Because we see things so often, we see them less and less.
Those who live in thanksgiving daily, however, have a way of opening their eyes and seeing the wonders and beauties of this world as though seeing them for the first time.
[. . . .]
The second thing we can do is
open our hearts.
We must let go of the negative
emotions that bind our hearts and instead fill our souls with love, faith, and
thanksgiving.
Anger, resentment, and bitterness
stunt our spiritual growth. Would you bathe in impure water? Then why do we
bathe our spirits with negative and bitter thoughts and feelings?
You can cleanse your heart. You
don’t have to harbor thoughts and feelings that drag you down and destroy your
spirit.
You can repent of uncleanliness.
That is the miracle of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. You can become clean. You
can cleanse your heart of impurity.
Begin the process today. Repent of
those things you should repent of. Drink deeply of the living waters of the
gospel. These latter days are a time of great spiritual thirst. Many in the
world are searching, often intensely, for a source of refreshment that will
quench their yearning for meaning and direction in their lives. The Lord
provides the living water that can quench the burning thirst of those whose
lives are parched by a drought of truth.
Pray with all your heart. Consider
the love your Heavenly Father has for all His children. Open your hearts to His
cleansing word. Feast on the words of holy writ. Cherish the messages of
modern-day prophets and apostles. Forgive others who have offended you. Don’t
waste another moment feeling self-pity. Every day drain from your heart the
feelings of resentment, rage, and defeat that do nothing but discourage and
destroy. Fill your heart with those things that ennoble, encourage, and
inspire.
The great Book of Mormon prophet
Nephi certainly had reason to be resentful. Hated by his brothers, bound and
beaten and nearly murdered, he had plenty to be bitter about. After his father
died, Nephi must have felt completely alone. He surely felt threatened. He
surely felt discouraged. He surely felt troubled. But when it came time for him
to communicate his feelings, what did he write?
Behold, my soul delighteth in
the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things
which I have seen and heard. [2 Nephi
4:16]
Yes, his path had been difficult.
Yes, his heart groaned because of mistakes he had made, but he did not allow
himself to linger in negativity. Instead, he told himself:
Rejoice, O my heart, and give
place no more for the enemy of my soul.
Do not anger again because of
mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.
Rejoice, O my heart, and cry
unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will
rejoice in thee. [2 Nephi
4:28–30]
The third thing we can do to
live in thanksgiving daily is open our arms.
One of the best ways we show our
gratitude is by blessing the lives of those around us. The great King Benjamin
taught his people:
If you should render all the
thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who
has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should
rejoice . . . —
. . . If ye should serve him
with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. [Mosiah 2:20–21]
And how do we render thanks unto
God? King Benjamin told us that as well:
And behold, I tell you these
things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the
service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. [Mosiah 2:17]
[. . . .]
Be grateful. Every day is a new
canvas—a new opportunity. Our beloved President Gordon B. Hinckley has said:
My plea is that we stop
seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that
as we go through life, we “accentuate the positive.” I am asking that we look a
little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm,
that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort.[Standing
for Something (New York:
Times Books, 2000), 101]
Choice blessings await those who
live in thanksgiving daily. “He who receiveth all things with thankfulness,”
the Lord has promised, “shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth
shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more” (D&C 78:19).”
To read or listen to all of it you can click here.
